Training load, sleep, reaction time, sports performance, and mood in paralympic swimmers before a competition.

BACKGROUND: Coaches usually reduce the training load (tapering) before competition to improve performance; however, in paralympic athletes this strategy had not yet been tested and we did not know which variables are associated with improved performance. Therefore, the objective was to compare the sleep, mood, sports performance, and reaction time (RT) of paralympic swimmers (PS) during tapering and to investigate whether there is a relationship between the variables during this training phase. METHODS: Eight PS were monitored for 17 days before the main competition, with an actigraphy to record sleep in 16 days. Evaluations were performed on Mondays (Evaluation 1 = E1) and Fridays (E2) during the first and second weeks (E3 and E4), and on Tuesday (E5) of the third week, the day traveling to the competition. Brunel Mood Scale, RT (Psychomotor Vigilance Test), and sports performance (50 m in the pool) were assessed before training on each assessment day. Internal training load (ITL) was evaluated using ratings of perceived exertion. RESULTS: ITL decreased gradually between assessments. Performance and RT were better on E5 than on E1. Fatigue was higher on E1 and E2 than on E4 and E5. Sleep parameters (total sleep time [TST], awakenings after sleep onset, and sleep efficiency) improved in the second week compared with the first week. Furthermore, TST from the previous night was correlated with RT, and RT and fatigue correlated with sports performance. CONCLUSIONS: The increase in TST and the reduction in fatigue just before competition achieved by tapering correlated with the improvement in RT and sports performance. In addition, the tapering improved sports performance, RT, sleep parameters, and decreased fatigue.

The Sleep Parameters of Olympic Athletes: Characteristics and Assessment Instruments.

This systematic review aims to identify the sleep parameters of Olympic athletes and the instruments used to assess and monitor the sleep of these athletes. The search was conducted until February 2023 and was performed in PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases. This systematic review has included studies that investigated at least one of the following sleep parameters: total sleep time (TST), sleep onset latency (SOL), sleep efficiency (SE), awakenings after sleep onset (WASO), quality of sleep, daytime sleepiness, and chronotype; the participants were Olympic athletes. The search returned a total of 280 studies. After screening based on exclusion and inclusion criteria, 11 studies were included. The main results demonstrate that Olympic athletes have TST of 06:10 h, SE of 84%, SOL of 28 min, and WASO of 49 min. The most predominant chronotype is indifferent; over half of the athletes have poor sleep quality and complaints. Furthermore, actigraphy was the most used method to assess sleep. It is concluded that Olympic athletes have TST, SE, and WASO poor than the recommended values. In addition, sleep complaints and poor sleep quality were also observed. Among the objective sleep assessment methods, actigraphy was the method most frequently used in this population.

The Sleep Parameters of Paralympic Athletes: Characteristics and Assessment Instruments.

CONTEXT: Sleep serves many important functions for athletes, particularly in the processes of learning, memory, recovery, and cognition. OBJECTIVES: Define the sleep parameters of Paralympic athletes and identify the instruments used to assess and monitor sleep Paralympic athletes. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: This systematic review was carried out based on the PRISMA guidelines. The survey was conducted in April 2020, the searches were carried out again in September 2021 to check whether there were new scientific publications in the area of sleep and Paralympic sport, searches were performed in the following databases: PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, SPORTDiscus, Virtual Health Library (BIREME), and SciELO. This systematic review has included studies that investigated at least one of the following sleep parameters: total sleep time, sleep latency, sleep efficiency, number of awakenings, quality of sleep, daytime sleepiness, and chronotype; the participants were comprised of athletes with disabilities. Studies published at any time in English, Portuguese, and Spanish, were included. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: Data extraction and study selection were performed by 2 researchers independently, and a third author was consulted as necessary. The search returned a total of 407 studies. Following the screening based on exclusion and inclusion criteria, a total of 13 studies were considered. Paralympic athletes have a low amount (7.06 h) of sleep with poor quality and sleep latency (28.05 min), and 57.2% have daytime sleepiness, with the majority belonging to the indifferent chronotype (53, 5%). Moreover, 11 studies assess sleep using subjective instruments (questionnaires), and 2 studies used an objective instrument (actigraphy). CONCLUSIONS: Sleep disorders are common among Paralympic athletes, poor sleep quality and quantity, and high rates of daytime sleepiness. Subjective methods are most commonly used to assess sleep.

Effect of Paralympic powerlifting training on sleep and its relationship with training load

Abstract Aim: This study aims to compare the sleep parameters in Paralympic powerlifting athletes during days with and without training, and to analyze the relationship between the training load and sleep on the same day and the relationship between the previous night's sleep and the training load of the following day. Methods: Actigraphy was used to analyze the sleep parameters of 11 Paralympic powerlifting athletes for 14 days (7 days without and with training), whereas Ratings of Perceived Exertion (RPE) analysis was used to assess training load. In addition, the Horne and östberg chronotype questionnaire and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale were applied. Results: Athletes show morning and indifferent chronotype and low daytime sleepiness. We found that on training days, sleep onset latency (SOL) was lower (average 5.3 min faster), whereas total sleep time (TST) and sleep efficiency (SE) were higher (TST averaged 169 min and SE 7% higher) compared to non-training days. In addition, the TST of the night before the training days correlated positively with the RPE of the following day, and the training volume correlated negatively with the SE of the same day. Conclusion: Our findings show that Paralympic powerlifting training had positive effects in increasing TST and SE and decreasing SOL on training days. These results show the positive effects of this type of training in improving sleep in athletes with physical disabilities. In addition, a good night's sleep the day before training can make it possible to put more effort into the next day's training. Therefore, guiding athletes to sleep more before training with more intense loads is recommended.

Sleep extension in athletes: what we know so far - A systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: This study reviewed systematically the effects of sleep extension on sports performance. DESIGN: Systematic review. METHOD: The systematic review was conducted in November 2020. Articles published in English were searched in PubMed, Virtual Health Library, SPORTDiscus, and Web of Science and Scopus databases. The search terms used were "sleep extension" AND athlete. The measures of interest were sports performance. Studies were included if they were a) original articles, b) published in English and peer-reviewed article, c) had only athletes as participants, d) experimental protocol whose objective was to investigate the effects of sleep extension on sports performance, including randomized (RCT) and non-randomized controlled trial (nRCT), and e) at least a sports performance measure as a dependent variable. RESULTS: The primary search revealed that a total of 5 out of 74 articles were considered eligible and 2 studies were subsequently included. The studies used different strategies to extend time in bed or total sleep time (extending 26-106 min). From fifteen sports measures, six presented a large effect size, and the others ranged from trivial to medium. Overall, the risk of bias was high to RCT and low to nRCT and the quality of evidence ranged from very low quality to moderate quality in ten outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: The limited evidence suggests that sleep extension interventions may be beneficial to improve sports performance in athletes where the magnitude is dependent on the variable assessed, although such conclusions are tentative because of the quality of the evidence and risk of bias.

Cross-cultural adaptation of the Brazilian version of the Athlete Sleep Behavior Questionnaire.

INTRODUCTION: Considering the specificity of the sporting context and the influence of sleep on athletic performance, the "athlete sleep behavior questionnare" (ASBQ) was developed to evaluate sleep behavior in English-speaking athletes. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to perform a cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the ASBQ in Brazilian athletes. METHODS: The cross-cultural adaptation was processed by procedures of translation and back-translation. Content validity was performed by 9 experts, calculating the coefficient of content validity for the equivalence of the individual items (Cvci) and the total global score (Cvct), in addition we conducted a pilot study using the translated version of the questionnaire. The next phase of the study included 52 athletes completing the translated ASBQ. The reliability of the questionnaire was assessed by the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), standard error of measurement (SEM) and by Cronbach's alpha (α). RESULTS: The ASBQ passed the process of cross-cultural adaptation, obtaining the Brazilian Version of the ASBQ (ASBQ-BR), and with acceptable values of Cvci (0.89-1.00) and Cvct (0.96). Additionally, the ASBQ-BR showed acceptable values of reliability (ICC=0.857; Cronbach's α=0.78) and a SEM of 3.05 AU. CONCLUSION: The ASBQ was translated to a newly developed ASBQ-BR, resulting in acceptable values for content validity and reliability. The ASBQ-BR provides a valuable tool for monitoring sleep behaviors in Brazilian athletes.